Cleruchoides, Lin & Huber & Salle, 2007

Huber, John T., Read, Jennifer D. & Triapitsyn, Serguei V., 2007, Paranaphoidea Girault 1913, Zootaxa 1596, pp. 1-111 : 53-54

Cleruchoides , gen. nov. ( Figs. 266–273 )

Type species: Cleruchoides noackae Lin and Huber (described below).

Diagnosis. Cleruchoides belongs to the Cleruchus group of genera. It is distinguished from other genera in the group by the following combination of features: forewing with a widened and slightly recurved posterior margin behind apex of venation and face with subantennal grooves black (faintly visible in Fig. 267 ). Cleruchoides shares many features with Cleruchus and might eventually be shown to be a synonym of the latter.

Description. Female. Head ( Fig. 267 ) in anterior view with height 0.5–0.6 x width, and length about 0.6 x width. Setae short and mostly inconspicuous. Face with conspicuous subantennal grooves. Toruli separated from transverse trabecula by about half their height. Ocelli in low triangle: LOL = 15, POL = 27, OOL = 8. Malar space about 0.5 x eye height. Eye large, its length slightly longer than height, its posterior margin not extending to back of head. Antenna ( Fig. 268 ) with radicle separate from and about 0.2x as long as relatively long scape; pedicel normal, distinctly wider apically than basally; funicle 6-segmented; clava entire. Mandibles ( Fig. 267 ) small, not meeting each other medially, essentially unidentate, with one, large blunt ventral tooth and a small, dorsal tooth (usually not visible in card-mouted specimens) far from and directed away from ventral tooth.

Mesosoma (as in Fig. 273 , male) about 1.7 x as wide as high and about 2.1 x as long as wide, with dorsal margin fairly flat in lateral view. Pronotum visible in dorsal view, about 0.4 x length of mesoscutum and longitudinally divided medially, each lobe with 2 anterior setae and 2, less widely spaced, posterior setae. Spiracle normal, at posterolateral angle of pronotum. Prosternum somewhat lozenge-shaped, with anterior margin rounded, not longitudinally divided and without setae. Mesoscutum ( Fig. 273 ) about 2.5 x as wide as long, its midlobe with two setae in posterior third next to notauli and each lateral lobe with a seta at posterolateral angle. Notauli distinct and percurrent. Scutellum about 1.6 x as long as mesoscutum; anterior scutellum about half as long as longitudinally divided posterior scutellum, with placoid sensilla close together in anterior quarter; axillae each with a seta near inner margin. Mesophragma extending posteriorly to past level of first gastral tergum. Dorsellum conspicuous, as long as anterior scutellum, with minute submedial setae almost midway between anterior and posterior margins. Propodeum in same plane as scutellum and slightly longer than dorsellum; propodeal spiracle inconspicuous and propodeal seta apparently absent.

Fore wing ( Fig. 269 ) 7 x as long as wide and rounded apically, with posterior margin behind stigmal vein distinctly lobed; blade mostly bare, with one posterior and 2 anterior lines (one incomplete) of microtrichia; marginal fringe with longest setae about 2.2 x maximum wing width; venation about 0.3 x wing length, with marginal vein (measured as distance between the macrochaetae) 0.43 x length of submarginal vein, and stigmal vein 0.44 x length of marginal vein and about 3 x as wide; hypochaeta just distal to proximal macrochaeta. Hind wing ( Fig. 269 ) about 14 x as long as wide, nearly parallel-sided, with rounded apex and a blade with two rows of microtrichia; setae of marginal fringe 4.6 x maximum wing width. Legs with tarsi 4-segmented and each basitarsus about 0.25 x as long as entire tarsus; fore leg ( Fig. 271 ) without obvious peglike sensilla on outer surface and protibial spur with inner tine short and arising at about midpoint of spur; middle leg with short tibial spur; hind leg with tibial spur over half as long as basitarsus.

Metasoma ( Fig. 266 ) about 0.75 x as long as mesosoma, with very short, inconspicuous petiole. Gastral terga subequal in length. Gastral spiracle absent. Ovipositor ( Fig. 266 ) arising in apical half of gaster, about half its length and scarcely exserted beyond gastral apex.

Male. Similar to female. Flagellum 11-segmented ( Fig. 272 ). Genitalia ( Fig. 270, 273 ) with phallobase about 2.6 x as long as wide, with aedeagus as long as aedeagal apodemes, with parameres half as long as aedeagus, and with volsellar digiti short, stout, with 3 apical teeth.

Distribution. Australia.

Derivation of genus name. From Cleruchus + -oides, Greek suffix meaning like or resembling, referring to the strong similarity to the genus Cleruchus . Gender: masculine.

Figures

FIGURES 266–273. Cleruchoides noackae. Lin & Huber. Female (holotype) 266, metasoma dorsal (gastral apex lateral); 267, head anterior; 268, antenna. Male (paratype, TAS, Devonport, 22.ix.1986, L. Hill, ex. Baclozygum?depressum) 269, fore- and hind wing; 270, genitalia; 271, fore leg. Male (paratype, TAS, Devonport, 15.v.1986, L. Hill, ex. Baclozygum?depressum on Eucalyptus globosus) 272, antenna; 273, meso- and metasoma dorsal.